The Most Famous
POKER PLAYERS from United States
This page contains a list of the greatest American Poker Players. The pantheon dataset contains 14 Poker Players, 10 of which were born in United States. This makes United States the birth place of the most number of Poker Players.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary American Poker Players of all time. This list of famous American Poker Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of American Poker Players.
1. Doyle Brunson (1933 - 2023)
With an HPI of 54.39, Doyle Brunson is the most famous American Poker Player. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages on wikipedia.
Doyle Frank Brunson (August 10, 1933 – May 14, 2023) was an American poker player who played professionally for over 50 years. He was a two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker. Brunson was the first player to win $1 million in poker tournaments. He won ten WSOP bracelets throughout his career, tied with Johnny Chan and Phil Ivey for second all time, behind Phil Hellmuth's seventeen bracelets. He is also one of only three players to have won the Main Event at the World Series of Poker multiple times, which he did in 1976 and 1977. He is also one of only three players, along with Bill Boyd and Loren Klein, to have won WSOP tournaments in four consecutive years. In addition, he is the first of six players to win both the WSOP Main Event and a World Poker Tour title. In January 2006, Bluff magazine voted Brunson the most influential force in the world of poker.On June 11, 2018, Brunson announced he was retiring from tournament poker that summer. That day, he entered the $10,000 2–7 Single Draw at the 2018 WSOP. He made the final table and finished in sixth place, earning $43,963.
2. Dan Bilzerian (1980 - )
With an HPI of 46.38, Dan Bilzerian is the 2nd most famous American Poker Player. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.
Daniel Brandon Bilzerian (born December 7, 1980) is an American poker player, businessman, and social media influencer. Born in Tampa, Florida, Bilzerian benefited from trust funds established by his father, a notable figure on Wall Street. Bilzerian droppped out of studying Business and Criminology at the University of Florida to pursue professional poker. Bilzerian's career has been marked by his participation in high-stakes poker, including a notable finish in the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event. His poker achievements and claims, such as winning $11 million in a single night, have brought him fame, alongside his activity on social media platforms. Beyond poker, Bilzerian founded Ignite International Brands Ltd., dealing in lifestyle products; the company had financial losses. His personal life and professional endeavors have both been controversial, with reported incidents leading to legal issues and public disputes. Bilzerian has made headlines for his political statements and attempted presidential run in 2016. There has been speculation around the origins of his fortune.
3. Stu Ungar (1953 - 1998)
With an HPI of 45.88, Stu Ungar is the 3rd most famous American Poker Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Stuart Errol Ungar (September 8, 1953 – November 22, 1998) was an American professional poker, blackjack, and gin rummy player, widely regarded to have been the greatest gin player of all time and one of the best Texas hold 'em players. Ungar is one of two people in poker history to have won the World Series of Poker Main Event three times. He is the only person to win Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker three times, the world's second most prestigious poker title of its time. Additionally, Ungar is one of only four players in poker history to win consecutive titles in the WSOP Main Event, along with Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan.
4. Johnny Moss (1907 - 1995)
With an HPI of 44.12, Johnny Moss is the 4th most famous American Poker Player. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Johnny Moss (May 14, 1907 – December 16, 1995) was a gambler and professional poker player. He was the first winner of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, at the time a cash game event in which he was awarded the title by the vote of his peers in 1970. He also twice won the current tournament format of the WSOP Main Event in 1971 and 1974. He was one of the charter inductees into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979.
5. Phil Hellmuth (1964 - )
With an HPI of 42.03, Phil Hellmuth is the 5th most famous American Poker Player. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Phillip Jerome Hellmuth Jr. (born July 16, 1964) is an American professional poker player who has won a record seventeen World Series of Poker bracelets. He is the winner of the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the Main Event of the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), and he is a 2007 inductee of the WSOP's Poker Hall of Fame. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tournament players of all time.
6. Dan Harrington (1945 - )
With an HPI of 41.90, Dan Harrington is the 6th most famous American Poker Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Dan Harrington (born December 6, 1945) is a professional poker player, best known for winning the Main Event at the 1995 World Series of Poker. He has earned one World Poker Tour title, two WSOP bracelets, and over six million dollars in tournament cashes in his poker career. He is also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Harrington chose his own nickname "Action Dan" even though he is known for being a tight conservative player. He is a distant cousin to both professional golfer Pádraig Harrington and former NFL quarterback Joey Harrington.
7. Phil Ivey (1977 - )
With an HPI of 37.92, Phil Ivey is the 7th most famous American Poker Player. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr. (born February 1, 1977) is an American professional poker player who has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title, and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables. Ivey is regarded by numerous poker observers and contemporaries as the best all-around player in the world. In 2017, he was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame.
8. Chris Ferguson (1963 - )
With an HPI of 35.36, Chris Ferguson is the 8th most famous American Poker Player. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Christopher Philip Ferguson (born April 11, 1963) is an American professional poker player. He has won six World Series of Poker events, including the 2000 WSOP Main Event, and the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Ferguson is a computer scientist by training and education. On September 20, 2011, the U.S. Justice Department filed a motion to amend a civil complaint, complaining that Ferguson and three other directors of the poker website Full Tilt Poker were running a Ponzi scheme that paid out $444 million of customer money to themselves and the firm's owners.
9. Tom Dwan (1986 - )
With an HPI of 32.44, Tom Dwan is the 9th most famous American Poker Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Thomas Dwan Jr. (born July 30, 1986) is an American professional poker player who played online in the highest-stakes No-Limit Texas hold 'em and Pot-Limit Omaha games, primarily on Full Tilt Poker under the screen name "durrrr". Dwan has won prize money in live poker tournaments and has appeared on NBC's National Heads-Up Poker Championship, the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons of Poker After Dark, the third, fourth, and fifth seasons of Full Tilt Poker's Million Dollar Cash Game, and the fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth seasons of GSN's High Stakes Poker.
10. Joe Cada (1987 - )
With an HPI of 23.04, Joe Cada is the 10th most famous American Poker Player. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Joseph Cada (born November 18, 1987) is an American professional poker player from Shelby Charter Township, Michigan, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). By winning the 6,494-entrant Main Event at the age of 21, Cada surpassed Peter Eastgate as the youngest champion ever. Cada had two previous WSOP in the money finishes, both in 2009. Cada had been a regular online poker player for several years prior to winning the live WSOP event. He is primarily an online poker player, with more than $500,000 in online tournament winnings at present. As of October 2016, his total live tournament winnings exceed $10,460,000. Cada became a representative of Team PokerStars in 2009 in the weeks prior to becoming World Champion. On June 18, 2012, he lost heads up in the 2,811-entrant $1,500 No Limit Texas hold 'em event at the 2012 World Series of Poker. Cada is from a family of card enthusiasts, although his parents disapproved of his chosen profession. His agent dubbed him "The Kid" (although this is already Stu Ungar's nickname), and he has also taken on the role as a statesman of the profession in the media and political circles, where he is a proponent of legalization of gambling.
Pantheon has 10 people classified as poker players born between 1907 and 1987. Of these 10, 7 (70.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living poker players include Dan Bilzerian, Phil Hellmuth, and Dan Harrington. The most famous deceased poker players include Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, and Johnny Moss.
Living Poker Players
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Dan Bilzerian
1980 - Present
HPI: 46.38
Phil Hellmuth
1964 - Present
HPI: 42.03
Dan Harrington
1945 - Present
HPI: 41.90
Phil Ivey
1977 - Present
HPI: 37.92
Chris Ferguson
1963 - Present
HPI: 35.36
Tom Dwan
1986 - Present
HPI: 32.44
Joe Cada
1987 - Present
HPI: 23.04
Deceased Poker Players
Go to all RankingsWhich Poker Players were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Poker Players since 1700.
